The fishery significance of a pond-type riverbed water-lifting
reservoir on small watercourses of the Volga region by the example of the Truev river 

Alik Yu. Asanov, Candidate of biological sciences, senior researcher of the Volga Research Center of Aquaculture and Aquatic Bioresources, Penza State Agricultural University (30 Botanicheskaya street, Penza, Russia), kfvniro-as@list.ru 

Background. The article considers a special type of reservoirs – partially regulated sections of riverbeds and streams formed by hydraulic structures and other artificial obstacles on the example of the Nadezhdinskiy reservoir on the Truev river in Penza region. The purpose of this work is to assess the fish productivity of a pond-type riverbed water-lifting reservoir based on a forage base, ichthyofauna in comparison with the natural riverbed and to determine methods of its fisheries use. Materials and methods. Fisheries research at the Nadezhda reservoir and the Truev river was carried out in August 2017. The selection and processing of hydrobiological and ichthyological samples was carried out according to generally accepted methods used by us in the last decade in small watercourses and reservoirs of the Volga region. Results. The regulated section of the Truev river, referred to as the Nadezhda reservoir, is 8–53 times higher in terms of phytoplankton, zooplankton and zoobenthos biomass than the natural riverbed. Also, the ichthyomass in the reservoir is 4.7 times higher than in the river, in which there were no commercial fish species in the studied area. Fish productivity for the most demanded components of the feed base by local fish species in the Nadezhdinskiy reservoir amounted to 166 kg/ha, in the natural channel of the Truev river – 11 kg/ha. The potential fish productivity may be 115 kg/ha and 13.2 kg/ha, respectively. In general, the total fish productivity differs by 12 times. Due to such high productivity, the Nadezhdinskiy reservoir can be used for sports and amateur fishing, pasture or commercial fish farming. Conclusions. The pond-type water-lifting reservoir is characterized by fish productivity at the level of average indicators of fish ponds and reservoirs of complex purpose in Penza region and the Republic of Mordovia. Channel water-lifting reservoirs should be taken into account in the fund of pond fishing in the region and actively exploited, which will significantly increase the volume of aquatic biological resources in low-water regions. 

aquatic bioresources, water-lifting reservoirs, phytoplankton, zooplankton, zoobenthos, ichthyofauna, fish productivity, aquaculture 

Asanov A.Yu. The fishery significance of a pond-type riverbed water-lifting reservoir on small watercourses of the Volga region by the example of the Truev river. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Estestvennye nauki = University proceedings. Volga region. Natural sciences. 2024;(1):39–49. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21685/2307-9150-2024-1-4